Taheriâ€™s column comports with second-hand reports Iâ€™ve received from those with access to top U.S. decision-makers in Iraq. Rather than use his touch-down trip to Baghdad to fact-find and consult with senior Iraqi and American officials, Sen. Obama made a concerted effort to push his postâ€“Bush administration agenda, undermining â€” in word and deed â€” current diplomatic efforts in Iraq. Tuesday, the Obama campaign essentially confirmed the details of Taheriâ€™s reporting.

Some will see this interference in foreign policy during a time of war and cry, â€œTreason!â€ While the episode truly is a scandal, I will check my emotions â€” as I find the overabundance of outrage in our politics tiring and toxic. I believe, rather, that the underlying naivety of Obamaâ€™s overtures is the more disturbing lesson to be distilled from this discovery.

Itâ€™s not just that Sen. Obama doesnâ€™t believe in the mission in Iraq, itâ€™s that he still doesnâ€™t get it (to plagiarize from the senator himself). Fundamentally, he doesnâ€™t understand the mission in Iraq, what it takes to win a war, or the ramifications of the outcome of this war for the U.S.â€™s enduring national security. He just doesnâ€™t get it.

Coverage of the exchange prompted by Taher’s column has been extremely limited. See the news stories that turn up in this Google search on “Obama and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari” (whose disclosure provided the basis of Taheri’s column). Insofar as the mainstream media are concerned, the story esentially remains a deep secret of campaign 2008.